


Persona: Stray Dogs

by Accendere



Series: Written Fates [2]
Category: Persona 5, 文豪ストレイドッグス | Bungou Stray Dogs
Genre: Agency Akira, Caring Chuuya Nakahara, Caring Dazai Osamu (Bungou Stray Dogs), Dark Kurusu Akira, F/M, Fluff, Humor, Im only writing this for fun, No scheduled chapters, Soukoku are BEST BROS, but not really that dark, suicidal akira
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-06
Updated: 2019-04-06
Packaged: 2020-01-04 13:03:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,473
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18344234
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Accendere/pseuds/Accendere
Summary: Snippets of "Akira Kurusu's" time in Yokohama after meeting a certain weretiger.





	1. Chapter 1

"Aah!!"

Nakajima Atsushi frantically jumped into the river to save the drowning man getting pecked by crows. A few seconds later, both of them were now at the side of the riverbank, the mysterious man unconscious and the white-haired boy panting heavily.

The man abruptly wakes up, sitting upright with a wide-eyed expression on his face.

"Are you alright?" Atsushi asked, turning his face to the man who suddenly developed an irritated expression.

"Tch."

_"Did he just say 'Tch.'?"_

"Why did you have to do that, kid?" The man said, "And here I thought I was finally getting that eternal peace that I wanted."

"I was trying to save you!" The boy exclaimed, "I mean, you were drowning!"

Turns out, this guy is crazier that he thought.

"That's right, I'm trying to commit suicide." The man sighed dejectedly as he stood up, "And you just had to ruin it."

"S-Suicide!?"

A few moments of awkward silence passed by before the man had a look of realization hitting him.

"Speaking of which, was I the only one that you saved?"

The teen was confused about the question but nodded, "Y-Yes... You're the only one that I... saw..." He slowly turned his head and gaze back to the river after instinctively sensing something nearby, only to be flummoxed when another person was drifting along the river.

_"THERE'S ANOTHER ONE???"_

As if by instinct, Atsushi threw himself into the river in the exact same manner like he did for the first man just now. While the boy was busy swimming his way to the drowning teen, the brunette let out a slight sigh of relief.

He didn't want him to die before he did.

=Five Minutes Later...=

The man watched the ragged boy as he carried his unconscious friend on his back and laid him on the grass. He guessed that the kid is already exhausted at "saving" a drowning person two times in a row. The brunette pressed his ear on the raven's chest and sure enough, his heartbeat is beating normally if not slightly slower. He pulled away and gently shook his friend awake.

Atsushi glanced at him worriedly as he catches his breath. The teen looked about as tall as him. He bears a slight resemblance to the brunette except his raven-colored hair is frizzy. His (now wet) clothes consists of a long black leather coat that reaches past his knees with dark-gray pants as well as long black combat boots. In addition, he also wore black gloves as well as a long red scarf. With his hair wet, Atsushi couldn't help but see him and the brunette man as relatives.

The raven-haired teen fluttered his eyes open and sat upright, clearly confused at his surroundings. After confirming that he's not in the afterlife and is still on Earth, his confusion was immediately replaced with disappointment as turned to his "savior".

"Why'd you save me?" The raven asked almost innocently.

The ragged teen quickly turned to him in shock, "You too!?"

The raven stood up, with some help from the brunette, and began to wring the bottom of his coat to get the water out.

"How many times have we failed?" The raven asked, taking out a towel (wait, where did that come from?) to dry his hair.

The man just shrugged, "Eh. I've lost count."

The frizzy-haired boy turned to Atsushi, "Sorry, we sorta bothered you, huh?" He then sighed almost dejectedly, "Not only have we failed miserably today but we also ruined someone's day."

The brunette man nodded in agreement, "Yeah, a clean suicide shouldn't ruin anyone else's day." The man glanced at the timid boy with an apologetic smile, "Hey, if there's any way we can make it up to you..."

_*Grrrrrrgle*_

The two suicidal men just stared at the boy for a moment.

"You hungry, kid?" The man asked.

"I... haven't eaten for a few days now..." The ragged boy shyly admitted.

His stomach growled again.

"Sure sounds like it." The frizzy-haired teen commented while crossing his arms.

"What a coincidence, neither have I." The man revealed as well.

"In that case..."

Atsushi didn't even managed to finish his sentence when the mysterious man admitted something again.

"My wallet seems to be at the bottom of the river, just in case you're wondering."

"Whaaat? You're kidding me..." At this rate, Atsushi's going to die in a few days from malnutrition.

"Actually, I already got it." The raven stated before pulling out a wet brown wallet from his pocket, giving it to the man.

In a show of happiness, the brunette childishly hugged the raven, "Ah~! You're a lifesaver!!"

"Then, that means..." The small glimmer of hope of eating at least something resurfaced inside Atsushi.

"THERE YOU ARE, YOU TWO MORONS!!!"

The ragged boy flinched at the sudden shout from an unfamiliar voice. The three of them gazed towards to the other side of the riverbank and saw a well-dressed man with his arms crossed with a tick mark on his head.

"Ah, Kunikida-kun, good afternoon~!" The brunette waved in greeting, uncaring of the other man's anger.

The raven teen was the same way, even sporting a grin which in no way showed even a slight remorse of whatever he had done, "What's up?"

"Don't 'good afternoon' and 'what's up' me!! There's nothing good about you or an afternoon with your suicide fetishes! Do you two have any idea how badly you've disrupted my schedule!?" The glasses-wearing man apparently named Kunikida yelled.

"Oh, I just had a splendid idea!" The brunette mischievously grinned, immediately hiding his wallet out of sight before turning to the starving boy, "That angry man over there is my colleague. We can have him buy us a meal!"

"Huh, wait, but isn't your walle-" Atsushi was cut off when the raven teen hushed him in amusement.

"Don't go using my money without my permission, you asshole!!" Of course, his yells were ignored by everyone.

"What's your name?" The brunette asked.

"...A-Atsushi..." The boy nervously answered, "Nakajima Atsushi..."

"Come with us then, Atsushi-san!" The raven cheerfully held out his hand, helping Atsushi stand up, "What do you wanna eat?"

Atsushi looked down on the ground, fidgeting, "Ch-Chazuke..."

They stayed silent for a minute at that answer before bursting out laughing.

"Hahahaha! A boy on the verge of starvation wants to eat Chazuke?" The brunette man wheezed.

"Man, you're one strange kid..." The raven commented, causing Atsushi to think _"You're one to talk..."_

The frizzy-haired teen stopped laughing and made an expression as though he had just realized something and turned back to Atsushi, "Wait, how old are you?"

Atsushi seemed to contemplate that question for a moment before answering, "Er... I was told that I'm 18."

"Seriously!? You're older than me!?" The other teen exclaimed in disbelief but decided shrug it off, "Whatever. I'm 15, by the way."

 _"Really?"_ Atsushi thought. He assumed that they're both the same age considering their exact height.

"Dazai! Akira! Listen to me, dammit!!"

"Dazai? Akira?" Atsushi absentmindedly repeated as gazed at the two in wonder.

"Yep, it's our names!" The brunette cheerfully answered as put his hands inside his pockets as the wind brushes past their clothings, serenely waving it like a flag, "I'm Dazai Osamu."

The raven smiled mysteriously as he adjusted his black glove and Atsushi could've sworn that his eyes became the color of blood for a moment before he once again saw the dull gray ones.

"My name's Kurusu Akira. Nice to meet you, Atsushi-san."


	2. Finding the Tiger

Dazai and Kunikida sit side-by-side at the table. Across from them sits Akira and Atsushi, who is still devouring the remaining bowls of chazuke.

"Haven't had chazuke in a while..."

Akira commented before drinking a glass of water and exhaled. The trio and Atsushi went to a nearby restaurant and Kunikida nearly spent almost all of the money in his wallet for buying Atsushi 30 bowls of chazuke. Akira bought one bowl as well but decided against paying for the money for Atsushi's bowls out of pity since it's a lot more fun this way.

While he was still eating, the two men argue (though, it's mostly Dazai getting grilled).

"Who the hell sees a river and thinks 'I'll go jump in there and try to kill myself' when they're supposed to be out doing their goddamn job!? Especially you, Akira! You usually don't attempt suicide while at work! I swear kid, don't you dare pick up Dazai's habit of ditching! " Kunikida yelled, uncaring of any attention that might get drawn to him. Not like there were many people in the restaurant, anyway. The glasses-wearing man sighed exasperatedly, "Thanks to you two morons, my schedule for today has gone to hell."

"You like that diary of yours, don't you?" Dazai asked in a teasing tone.

Kunikida slammed his hand on the table, "It's not a diary! It's a journal of ideals!" He held out his notebook, which had the kanji of 'Ideal' written on the cover for everyone to see, "This is my guide through life, and nowhere in this guide does it state that two of my colleagues have a fixation with suicide!"

"Well, that notebook does have some value in it." Akira chuckled while resting his head on his laced gloved hands, "After all, it's made by that legendary diary maker from Europe, right? What was his name again...?" He trailed off as he tried to remember the old man's name.

"His name is Master Carlisle and don't you forget it!"

"Nom nom nom?" The three turned to Atsushi who talked with his mouth full.

"Quiet you! My page for expenditures doesn't include some street punk eating chazuke with my hard earned money either!" Kunikida exclaimed.

"Don't worry, Atsushi-san. It's all just a bunch of schedules and to-do lists inside." Akira assured him about whatever Atsushi had said.

"This is work, dammit! Don't speak of it like that!"

"Nom nom nom?"

"What kind of work? It's a military contract."

"It's just a request."

"...How exactly are you three communicating?" Dazai was the only one left out.

Akira, Kunikida and Atsushi glanced at him confusedly.

"Ah~, I'm so full!" Atsushi slumped his head to the table where a mountain of bowls of chazuke are sitting, "I don't need to even look at chazuke for another 10 years..." He sighed happily.

Akira chuckled in amusement as the glasses-wearing man clicked his tongue in irritation, "You little... You've got a lot of nerve to say that after filling your belly by the good grace of others "

"You save my life." Kunikida raised an eyebrow of confusion at that statement.

"You've got nowhere to go, do you?" Akira asked, but his question is more like a confirmation.

Atsushi solemnly nodded, "I didn't have anything to eat or anywhere to stay since leaving my orphanage... I really thought I was going to starve to death."

Dazai tilted his head as he rested his head in the same manner as the raven, "You left your orphanage, kid?"

"...I guess it was more like they kicked me out." The ragged boy admitted.

"That's a pretty cold-hearted thing to do." Dazai commented.

"Dazai, we're not benevolent samaritans who go around showing charity to the unfortunate. We have work to do." Kunikida told him.

"You said something about a military contract, but what kind of work do you actually do?" Atsushi asks in curiosity.

"Oh, we're detectives." Akira answered.

"Detectives...?"

Kunikida nodded, "That's right, but not the kind that go around looking for missing cats or trying to dig up dirt on people's unfaithful partners."

"I assume you've heard of a group of people with supernatural abilities, called the  **Armed Detective Agency**?"

"Huh?"

Atsushi had heard rumors about this particular group. The Armed Detective Agency is supposedly a group of detectives who specialize in jobs too dangerous for the police or the military.

An armed organization that deals in the world that exists between night and day.

They say a lot of the members of the Armed Detective Agency have supernatural abilities.

Were they talking about people like these three?

Atsushi's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of Akira's amused voice.

"From the look on your face, I guess you have."

"Ooh, what a perfect ceiling beam!" Dazai suddenly exclaimed. Atsushi looked up to what Dazai was implying.

"Don't even think about hanging yourself!" Kunikida yelled.

"I think I'll pass, Dazai-san." Akira waves his hand.

"I'm surprised that you don't like hanging, considering it being a common way of suicide." Kunikida said.

Akira's relaxed posture never changes, "It's not that I don't like hanging specifically. I just don't like how it burns my lungs from the lost of oxygen. I still do it sometimes but it always fails as usual."  _and I never seem to tie the knot properly enough for some reason_ went unsaid.

Atsushi's face immediately switches to that of discomfort upon hearing this.

"I'm not planning to hang myself, Kunikida-kun." Dazai answered the well-dressed man's earlier statement, "Health by hanging is a health craze these days."

Kunikida raised an eyebrow, "What the hell are you talking about?"

"Whaaat? You've never heard of it!?" Dazai dramatically expressed shock, "It gets rid off stiff shoulders in a flash!"

The other man widened his eyes, "That kind of health regime actually exists?"

"Come on, write it down!"

As Kunikida took out his "Ideal" notebook and began taking notes of Dazai's bullshit, Atsushi glanced at the young raven who looked like he was about to burst out laughing and holding off his tears of amusement.

"Health... by... hanging..."

Dazai rested his head on his palm as he turned away, "I'm just messing with you."

_*SNAP*_

Oh.

His pen snapped in half.

"YOU FUCKING BASTARD!!!" Kunikida repeatedly yanks Dazai by the collar of his shirt and said man absolutely showed no remorse by keeping on a relaxed and amused expression.

"For someone so professional, you sure are gullible." Akira commented. He then ordered a glass of water from the waitress nearby and leaned back against his chair in a relaxed manner.

"You shut the hell up, Akira!"

 _"D-Do these three really work for the Armed Detective Agency?"_ Atsushi wondered nervously with slight trickles of sweat forming on the side of his face.

"My partner and colleague gets washed away in a river, this little punk eats his way to happiness with my money. My perfectly planned schedule has been wasted!" Kunikida loudly complained.

"For the hundredth time." Akira added as the waitress handed him his water, drinking it instantly.

"We're going to wrap up this goddamn contract on time, no matter what! I hope you've got that through your thick head!"

"What exactly is the contract?" Atsushi nervously and curiously asked.

"Excuse me!?" Kunikida yelled at Atsushi.

Atsushi yelped and flinched back from the hard stare he's being given, "I'm sorry! I shouldn't have asked! I-It's detective work, so I guess it's confidential, right?"

"Not really." Akira shook his head, "It isn't anything cloak and dagger. The military has asked us to find a tiger."

Atsushi widened his eyes, "...A tiger?"

"The man-eating tiger that's been terrorizing the city." Dazai explained, "Well, no one knows if it has actually eaten anyone, but warehouses have been torn up. Crops were ransacked too. In fact, there's been a lot of reports of sightings around here." Dazai noticed Atsushi's expression, "What's the matter, Atsushi-kun?"

The raven observed how Atsushi's face has been gradually paling at Dazai explanation. The boy started and shaking fidgeting before stumbling out of his seat out of obvious fear.

"I-I really need to get going..." Atsushi stuttered weakly, "G-Goodbye..."

However, before he could make his attempted escape by scrambling across the floor he was pulled back by the collar of his slightly torn shirt by Kunikida, who hoisted him off the ground with an irritated expression on his face.

"Not so fast, you little punk. You know something."

"N-No! I-It can't be stopped!" Atsushi cried out as he tried to pry off of Kunikida's grip.

"You little... What do you know about it?" Kunikida interrogated.

"It's hunting me! It tried to kill me! If it's around here, I have to get away!"

Atsushi manages to break free from the man's grip and attempts to flee once more until Kunikida secures his wrist and twisted it as he slams him to the ground. Pinning him to the ground, Kunikida positions himself on Atsushi's back.

"You can pay for the chazuke with information, or with one of your arms. Your choice." Kunikida demanded.

"Now, now, Kunikida-san." Akira placed his hand on Kunikida's shoulder in an attempt to calm him down, "There's no need to attack him."

"Come on, Kunikida-kun. Your interrogations always turn into torture sessions. The Director keeps telling you to be careful." Dazai calmly told him.

"You're one to talk." Akira stated with a smile.

Dazai returned the same expression, "Right back at you."

Ignoring their last two statements to each other, Kunikida grudgingly releases his grip on Atsushi and stood up with hands on his pockets.

"Atsushi-san, what is it that you know about the tiger? We need whatever information we can in order to apprehend it more quickly." Akira said in a comforting tone so the poor boy wouldn't be so nervous around him.

Atsushi seemed to relax a bit, but his shoulders are still tense and he continues fidgeting and the paleness on his face only grew once he began explaining, "...My orphanage got torn up by the tiger."

"The fields were damaged, our birdhouse was destroyed... It hit our storehouse as well."

"No one was killed... but the orphanage couldn't make ends meet anymore... They kicked me out to reduce the number of mouths they had to feed."

Atsushi remembered all the painful words everyone of the orphanage staff had harshly told him before they threw him away without remorse.

_"Go find somewhere to rot and die..."_

Dazai had a sympathetic look, "...Sounds like you had it rough."

"Why do you mean it tried to kill you?" Kunikida asked.

"The man-eating tiger, it... it appears wherever I go, like its chasing me." Atsushi shakily explained, "It happened just the other night here in Tsurumi..."

Atsushi proceeded to explain his encounter with the tiger during a night of a full moon in a deserted street. While explaining, Akira's expression was blank and empty, completely unreadable. He engraved Atsushi's every word in his mind as he deciphered it in matter of seconds before he finally realized something.

He glanced at Dazai and was given an understanding nod from the brunette. They both reached the same conclusion.

"I've seen it in the shadows so many times since I was kicked out of the orphanage." Atsushi continued, "It followed me into the city. I'm sure of it."

One more question to prove it.

"When was the last time you saw this tiger?" Dazai asked.

"...It was about four days ago... I think." Atsushi responded.

"The tiger attacks have been concentrated here over the past two weeks, and witnesses have also confirmed sightings of the tiger in Tsurumi four days ago." Kunikida said, reading into his notebook with one page filled with info provided by witnesses.

"Hmm..." Dazai thumbed his chin before asking, "Are you busy tonight, Atsushi-kun?"

"What!?" Atsushi had a bad feeling about this.

Dazai cheerfully smirked, "If the tiger is on the prowl for you, then that works out well for us."

"What!?"

"Help me find this tiger of ours."

Atsushi frantically shook his head, "No way!!"

Akira yawned, "Then would you rather have the tiger chase after you alone? Who is probably after your life?"

"Uh..." Atsushi's still isn't sure but he doesn't want that.

Dazai fishes a pen and paper from his coat (which is hanging on the back of the chair). After writing something on it, he hands it to Kunikida, who raised an eyebrow in confusion as he takes the paper.

"Head back to the office and give this to our beloved Director." Dazai instructs.

"Do you really plan on catching this thing by yourselves?" Kunikida asks, unsure if he should leave them, "There's a protocol for th-"

Akira cuts him off with a relaxed smile, "Just do it."

Kunikida reads the paper and his eyes slightly widened for a moment.

"I don't like this!" Atsushi complained, "You just want to use me as bait, don't you!? What makes you think I'd..."

"There's money in it for you." Dazai said.

"...Huh? Money...?" Atsushi shook his head. He can't do it! No matter how much he needed money!

He took a step back, "Money... No, no, no. I won't fall for that!" He stayed silent for moment before his expression suddenly became hopeful.

"B-But, just out of curiosity, h-how much money would we be talking about...?"

"About this much." Dazai innocently said, showing the amount to Atsushi in a paper.

"Aiee!!"

Akira energetically stood up and stretched his arms as Dazai stood up as well, putting on his coat, both having shit-eating grins that made Kunikida facepalm.

"Now that settles it! Let's go~!"

This ought to be a fun night.


	3. The Beast Beneath the Moonlight

_"*Yawn*"_

Atsushi flinches at the sudden sound of the silence within the darkness. He turned his head to the side, seeing the Akira had just woken up from his short nap (Who in the world takes a nap while waiting for the beast that might kill them in their sleep!?). Right next to him, Dazai was reading a red and white book, looking very relaxed and sometimes smiles when turning each page before leaving behind a small bookmark.

It made Atsushi a little curious, "Dazai-san, what are you reading?"

"A good book." The man simply replied without taking his eyes off the book. Both detectives' expressions were relaxed, completely devoid of worry. It made them very unreadable and Atsushi can't even tell what they're thinking right now.

"I'm surprised you can read when it's this dark." Atsushi said.

"I have good vision. Besides, I already know everything that happens in this book." Upon leaning his head to take a closer look at he book, Atsushi sweatdrops once he sees the title  _Complete Guide to Suicide_.

Akira leans to his side while rubbing his eyes and covering his mouth to stifle his yawn, reading the page Dazai is currently at, "Didn't we already tried these last month?"

"Yes. But the only reason it failed was because Kunikida-kun interrupted us. It wouldn't hurt to try again." Dazai replied.

 _Why are you two so suicidal_ was what Atsushi wanted to ask since they met but decided to ask a question that is far less morbid, "Why are you reading it, then?"

"A good book is always good, no matter how many times you've already read it." Dazai explained before turning mischievously at the frizzy-haired raven, "Akira-kun here has a large collection of mystery novels in his home, and he still reads it over and over again."

Akira stretched his arms and legs as he leaned back onto the crate behind him, "When it comes to mystery novels, people usually don't notice some things in the book the first time they read it."

Atsushi hummed in interest before suddenly turning more downcast and wrapped his legs closer to his chest even tighter than before, "...Will the tiger really show up here?"

"It will." Was Dazai's immediate reply, which caused Atsushi to violently flinch in fear.

"Don't worry." The man continued, gaining the ragged boy's attention back to him, "Even if it shows up, it's no match for the two of us. We may not look like much, but we are operatives of the Armed Detective Agency."

"You're really confident. I'm kind of jealous." Atsushi said sadly.

Akira tilted his head, but his face was blank instead of confused, "Why?"

"...They called me a good-for-nothing at the orphanage as far back as I can remember... And now, I don't even know where I'll sleep tonight or whether I'll be able to earn my keep tomorrow."

_"Get out, you good-for-nothing!"_

_"You'll never find a place where you belong!"_

"No one'd care if someone like me were to die in a ditch somewhere." Atsushi continued, "...Yeah, I may be better off eaten by a tiger..."

"Looks like you just got sent to the worst kind of caretakers." Akira said, gaining Atsushi's attention as lifted his head, "But maybe there was some sort of reason why they abused you."

"...Why? I didn't even do anything wrong... They always kept me in a cage like some animal... Even before that, they always hit me even when I'm just sitting quietly." Atsushi explained.

Dazai lifted his head and stared at the orphan.

"...Since when were you kept in a cage?" Akira asks.

Atsushi lowered his head again on his knees, thinking for a bit before responding, "...It happened so suddenly. The morning I woke up, I was in there, surrounded by the staff. They kept insulting me and splashed me cold water. I think that was when it got worse."

"..."

"Well, then..." Dazai looked up to the sky, through the window of the warehouse, the clouds slowly clearing up, "I think it'll be soon."

Suddenly, they all heard something clanging, which scared Atsushi and hurriedly scooted backwards while looking for the source of the noise, causing him to fall from the crate, "I...I just heard something back there."

"Yeah."

"I bet that's the tiger, Dazai-san, Kurusu-san!" He exclaimed.

Dazai looked back to the his book again, not worried, "No, I think the wind just knocked something down."

"It was probably the open box outside. It was filled with metal utensils." Akira said, his demeanor the same as Dazai.

Atsushi didn't even hear them and began panicking, "It's the man-eater! It's come to eat me!"

Dazai closed his book, which created a slight echo throughout the room, "Calm down, Atsushi-kun. Tigers don't show up from places like that."

"How do you know for sure!?"

"Something wasn't quite right to begin with." Dazai said.

"Huh?"

"Just because their finances went south, why would an orphanage banish a child? It's not some farming village from a bygone era. Banishing one or two mouths to feed would hardly put a dent in their deficit. It'd make more sense to downsize by transferring half of the kids to a different orphanage."

Dazai stood up with hands on his pockets and jumped from the crate, followed by the raven.

Atsushi stared at them uneasily.

"...What are you talking about, Dazai-san?"

"You came to this city two weeks ago..." Dazai started.

"The tiger also appeared in this city two weeks ago." Akira said, his blank eyes completely focused on Atsushi.

Atsushi slowly turned around, seeing the full moon with the clouds nearby completely cleared.

"You were in the Tsurumi area four days ago."

"The tiger was also sighted there four days ago."

"Remember what Kunikida-kun said?" Dazai asks, but it was more of a statement rather than a question, "The Armed Detective Agency is comprised of individuals with supernatural powers."

Atsushi's eyes slowly widened. Soon, the purple in his eyes were vanished by the moonlight.

And slowly, his body was changing as a blue aura filled with kanji letters began to surround him in numerous circles.

"Though not a well-known fact, there are quite a few individuals who possess supernatural abilities in this world." Dazai continued, both detectives unfazed by the sight before them even when Atsushi began screaming viciously.

"Some use their powers to achieve great success, while others fall into ruin as a result of being unable to control their powers."

"I'm guessing that the orphanage staff knew who the tiger was, but declined to enlighten you. You were the only one who remained ignorant." Akira said, "You also have supernatural powers. That is probably, but most likely why they kept you in a cage."

In front of them in Atsushi's place was the white golden-eyed tiger from the reports, who is know growling in hostility.

"You have the ability to transform into a wild beast in the moonlight."

The beast beneath the moonlight roared and charged at them.

Both of them dodged just in time while the tiger instead destroyed a crate with a single slash with its claws. Each step caused the concrete underneath its feet to crumble and break as it kept on attacking the two detectives, who both easily dodges its attacks.

"This is impressive. You could easily snap a person's neck."

Dazai evaded another attack and jumped backwards from the crate, sliding from the impact until he was cornered onto a wall. The tiger slowly approaches him as Akira jumped from behind.

"Dazai-san, I would like to check on something first." Akira said, earning an understanding nod from the older man.

The raven grasps his face as his eyes slowly turned into the color of blood.

**"Arsene."**

Blue flames followed.

If taken a closer look, one could see that it was actually blue letters in the form of French language that make up the form of flames.

The tiger stopped in its tracks. It turned its head towards the other male and its golden eyes reflected on the blue flames that surrounded the boy before noticing that his burning form had slightly changed his shape.

A second later, it could see a face in those flames before it separates itself from the boy...

...Whose clothing had changed into garments befitting to that of a thief.

Clothing that heavily resembled to that of a shadow and gloves with the color of blood.

The flames solidify and entirely new being manifested itself behind its user.

A black-winged man wearing the clothing of a gentleman, with an additional top hat that made him resemble a magician. The being's most prominent feature is his horned black mask with red flames that make up for his face, expressing cunning slanted eyes as well as a wide vicious grin.

The flames, or rather letters, eventually subsided and the only thing that can be heard throughout the warehouse is the hostile growling of a white tiger.

"A white tiger under the moonlight... Now this is quite a sight." The being that bear the name of the gentleman thief commented, his voice deep and smooth.

Akira nodded as he watched the tiger's attention now completely focused on them, "He had quite the rare ability, too."

It is quite a rarity to see an ability that turns its user into something else.

In less than a second, the tiger roared and charged at them. Akira moved out of the way, but Arsene stayed at where he was as he watched the tiger charged at him with its gigantic claws out.

**"Rakukaja."**

Akira muttered. Blue light enveloped Arsene's being and disappeared as the tiger landed its attack on the thief, who braced himself with his arms defensively.

Much to Akira's slight surprise, Arsene was blown back a few meters back and felt the effects of the attack on his arms.

It was very painful, enough to kill a normal person.

_"I used Rakukaja yet I felt this much damage...? His full form is stronger than I expected..."_

The tiger continued his assault on the thief, however, instead of fighting back, he just kept evading its attacks, destroying a lot of crates in the process.

Akira didn't summon Arsene to have an all-out fight with the tiger. He merely wanted to confirm a few things he had in mind.

He instructed Arsene in his thoughts and the gentleman thief held out his sharp hand as red and black aura began to envelop his hand.

 _"Sorry, Atsushi-san..."_ He apologized in regret but deemed his actions as necessary.

**"Eiha."**

One of his weakest spells, but still a powerful one as the amount of damage depended on how strong Arsene is.

If he had used Eigaon, there was no doubt that he would've destroyed the entire warehouse.

Numerous rays of black and red fired straight to the tiger before a small explosion occurred in no less than a second upon the spell's contact.

However, the offensive curse spell proved to be futile when the white tiger emerged from the smoke with its fangs bare. Arsene had barely managed to dodge its claws due to being in the same state of surprise as his user.

_"He didn't take any damage...?"_

No, he was wrong.

Akira could see the burnt marks that was left behind by Eiha staining its pure white fur, still steaming with smoke. However, it was slowly fading away until he couldn't see the marks anymore, looking as if the tiger hadn't been damaged in the first place.

_"So he can regenerate..."_

They should probably wrap it up.

"All right, that's enough, Arsene."

The thief gave him a nod before facing back at the tiger. The tiger landed its blow, however, it realized that blue flames (or letters) were now in place of the masked thief before it dissipated into nothingness.

The clicking sound of shoes gained its attention, causing the other to look back behind it as it growled menacingly.

It didn't saw how Akira suddenly had a black and white avian mask on him.

"It wouldn't be so bad to meet one's end bring eaten by a beast..." The man in the tan coat said, taking a few steps forward before stopping as the beast leapt towards him, "...but you can't kill me."

The palm of his hand created a bright flash of Kanji letters that spread through the room.

"My ability is..."

**"No Longer Human."**

As the tiger fell closer, Dazai immediately landed the tip of his finger onto the tiger's head, which resulted in the beast to be enveloped by the letters created by Dazai's ability.

"My ability allows me to render any other ability null through simple touch."

Soon, white light took over the entire tiger's being until its shape was eventually reverted back to the way it was before.

The unconscious Atsushi landed right onto Dazai's torso, with the man catching him.

...

"I have no such tastes in men." Dazai stated as he just let go of Atsushi, causing the poor boy to land face-first on the hard concrete floor with a  _thud_.

"But you hugged me earlier." Akira said, approaching the two of them with hands in his pockets as his thief clothes reverted to that of his original ones in a similar manner as Arsene.

"You and Chuuya are exceptions." Dazai simply replied, "I still wonder why my ability doesn't work on you, though..."

Akira just shrugged.

"Hey, Dazai, Akira!"

The two of them turned around and saw their coworker running towards them.

"Oh, you're late, Kunikida-kun." Dazai said.

Akira cheerfully saluted, "We've captured the tiger!"

Kunikida stopped once he saw the sight of Atsushi, "What, it's this boy?"

"He has the ability to transform into a tiger." Dazai explaines.

"But he's not aware of what's happening when he does." Akira added.

"Jeez."

"Hm?"

"What was with this note?" Kunikida asks exasperatedly, showing the note that Dazai had written earlier.

"A tiger will appear in the warehouse in the fifteenth district. Secure the perimeter so that it can't get away." Dazai reads, his face flashing into a bright, innocent expression, "It's an excellent, concise note."

"You've left out the most important detail!" Kunikida retorted, "Next time, explain in advance. Thanks to you, I had to bring in guys who weren't even on call. Take them out for drinks later."

Three figures approached them from the shadows, one boy in farmer's clothing that looked like the youngest among all of them leapt playfully towards Atsushi.

"Hey!"

"What, no casualties?" The young woman with the golden butterfly hairpin casually said, going by the name Yosano Akiko, "How boring..."

"You've come a long way, Dazai. Even you, Akira, even though you just joined last year." The short man with closed eyes commented, wearing clothes that resembled that of Sherlock Holmes. His name being Edogawa Ranpo, "Though you still have ways to go before the two of you can even come close to me."

The youngest boy, Miyazawa Kenji, knelt down besides Atsushi, looking a bit worried, "But what are we going to do with him? He didn't know he was doing it's right?"

"Yeah you're right." Kunikida agreed, taking out his notebook as faced his partner, "What do you think, Dazai? The ward's designated him as a major threat."

Dazai chuckled, causing some confusion among most of the people in the group, "I've already made a decision." He said before glancing at Atsushi, remembering the wounding words that he directed upon himself.

"We'll make him one of us."

"Oh~!" Kenji's eyes sparkled.

The older detectives looked at him skeptically. Yosano with a raised eyebrow, Ranpo with crossed arms but didn't looked opposed to it, and Kunikida well... He looked like his schedule just went to hell again.

"Are you serious?" Yosano questions.

"Dazai, you  _are_ an idiot." Ranpo merely said.

"HAAH!!??" Kunikida had the most booming reaction, "What gives you the right to decide that!?"

Both Kenji and Akira are kneeled on both sides of the orphan's unconscious form, with the former giving him headpats while the raven glances at Kunikida with a knowing smirk.

"He'll be a great addition!" Akira cheered.

"Wake up, boy!" Dazai shouted in glee.

_Here, in a city teeming with the supernatural..._

_Here, in a detective agency teeming with eccentrics..._

_A strange tale is about to unfold._

_This is only a sign of things to come... A premonition, if you will._

_Now..._

"Huh?"

Atsushi tiredly opened his eyes, groggily sitting upright, "I..."

"Atsushi-kun."

"Do you remember nothing at all from when you were transformed?" Dazai asks.

"What are you taking about?" Atsushi asks, clearly not knowing about had transpired minutes ago.

"Oh."

"Atsushi-san." The ragged boy turned to his right, seeing Akira pointing at something with an amused expression, "Your right hand."

"...Right hand?" Atsushi ascended his right hand, which looked a lot more... furry than he remembered.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"EEEEEEEHHHH!!!???" Atsushi screamed in terror, frantically standing up while shaking his hand...or rather paw, "What the!? What's thiswhat'sthiswhat'sthis!? What the hell!?"

"Nakajima Atsushi!"

Atsushi flinched and stopped one he saw the three detectives he knew along with other three unfamiliar ones, looking at him with anticipation.

"You'll become one of us."

"From this day forth, you'll be a member of the Armed Detective Agency." Dazai told him.

Atsushi's eyes slowly widened before instantly turning into a skeptical expression, "...Huh?"

"Let's go get some drinks, then!" Akira suddenly shouted with fists pumped in the air, "My treat!"

That instantly brightened everyone up and all of them began walking out of the warehouse, loudly discussing what restaurant to go while ignoring Atsushi's confused questions.

"C'mon, Atsushi-san!" Akira yelled cheerily.

"W-Wait, what? What in the world is going on, Kurusu-san!?"

"Just call me Akira, you're one of us now!"

"But why???"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did I ever mention how much I love the effects of the abilities in BSD? I love how it references that the characters are all based on authors and the names of their abilities are based on the title of their books.
> 
> As for why Arsene has Rakukaja, it will be explained in later chapters (If I ever managed to reach it).
> 
> Anyway, thank you for reading and feel free to leave a comment!  
> ≧∇≦


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